Ellis Stanton

Ellis Stanton was born on August 16, 1932 to the union of Ruby and Gus Stanton in Panola, Alabama. He was the second of twelve children born unto this union. He was baptized at an early age and attended St. John Baptist Church in his community. He attended elementary and high school in Panola, Alabama. Ellis moved to Chicago, Illinois in the early 1950s where he initially worked for Zennith/Quasar. In 1964 he began work at National Castings Steel Foundry in Cicero, Illinois, where he was a steel worker with the railroad industry until his retirement in 1995. There he poured hot molten iron into die casts to mold wheels and couplers for freight car trains. He also served as a union steward for his steel workers local. In this role he was charged with representing the interests of his fellow labor union members in grievance matters. Affectionately known by family as “Elbow,” and to friends and those throughout his southside community as “Little Man” and “Shorty,” he was a quiet easy-going hard-working man who had a love for Buicks, especially the ones he always owned…the Buick Electra 225 or as he would say “the Deuce and a Quarter”. Ellis was an avid baseball fan whom although he was a Southsider, had a special affection for his Northside Chicago Cubs. You would often find him driving his Buick and sporting his Cubs hat and jacket. While he never attended a Cubs game, when he was in the hospital late one Spring his room overlooked the stands at Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field where one day after a heavy rain a bright ray of sun came out and a rainbow appeared in the sky over the ball park. Ellis came to rest on April 30, 2024, when God called him home after a long and courageous fight with Alzheimer’s. Ellis was preceded in death by his parents Gus and Ruby Stanton, and seven siblings: Louise, Clyde, Lesley, Otis, Virginia, Augusta and Henry. Ellis leaves to cherish his memory, two caring and dedicated daughters: Terri (Nathaniel) Poindexter of Evanston, IL and Cheryl “Nene” Coe of Palatine, IL; four grandchildren: Kimira (Brandon) Watson, of Skokie, IL, Brittney Knox of Waukegan, IL, Naté (Travis) McCray of Evanston, IL, and Tyra Poindexter of Niles, IL; six great-grandchildren: Jada Swift, Andrew Morales, Aamir Morales, Brooklynn Watson, Afiniti Jackson and Ashanti Jackson; as well as a bonus daughter, Tricia Tucker of Gary, IN; four bonus grandchildren: Courtney Tucker and Jasmin Harris both of Waukegan, IL, Jamie (Charles) Cherry of Highland Park, IL and Jordan Harris; two brothers: Ivory (Ann) Stanton of Saginaw, MI and Fred Stanton of Panola, AL; two sisters: Tency Hill of Chicago, IL and Annie Peoples of Flint, MI, and a host of nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.

Ellis Stanton

August 16, 1932 - April 30, 2024